(Washington)

It had seemed somewhat of a formality to this point, but it is now official: Eugene Scalia has been confirmed by the Senate as the head of the Department of Labor. Scalia has long been a legal crusader against both financial regulations and worker’s rights, and will now take the helm of what is likely to be a very different Department of Justice. This has made opponents of the the fiduciary rule 2.0 cheer. However, Scalia announced recently he may have to recuse himself from being involved in that regulation given government ethics guidelines. Still, many argue that his influence will mean the DOL moves in a much more conservative direction on all fronts.

FINSUM: The fiduciary rule seems like the biggest thing the DOL has going at the moment (at least it seems that way if you are in wealth management). This seems to be backed up by how much political attention it is getting. It is hard to see him not being involved, or at least heavily influencing the approach, even if he is not directly taking part.